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SHOW BITS: With work done, time to go play

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Show Bits brings you the 85th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Singer Shirley Bassey performs during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Lo …

QUICKQUOTE: OCTAVIA SPENCER

"I'm good now. Now I can go play!" — Octavia Spencer, backstage after presenting the night's first Oscar.

— Sandy Cohen — https://www.twitter.com/APSandy

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BASSEY HITS IT OUTTA THE PARK

For all the sparkling young starlets and the edgy new host, it was none other than Dame Shirley Bassey who truly set the joint on fire early in the Oscar telecast.

The 76-year-old singer's rendition of the theme from "Goldfinger" — or, as she sang so memorably, "GoldfinGAH" — was a feel-good moment that won what was at the time the biggest ovation of the night.

Bassey, who recorded the song in the '60s to great acclaim, reprised it as part of the Academy's 50th anniversary tribute to the James Bond franchise.

On social networks, as people were debating vigorously how the telecast was going, there was no question as to how Bassey did: She was an unqualified hit.

Minutes after the performance, the singer and her song were trending on Twitter.

Adele, who was to perform her "Skyfall" theme later in the show, had her work cut out for her.

— Jocelyn Noveck — Twitter https://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP

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WALTZ PULLS OSCAR UPSET

It didn't take long for the first big upset of Oscar night.

Christoph Waltz claimed the first statuette, winning best supporting actor for his role as a refined bounty hunter in "Django Unchained."

Waltz briefly found himself in a bizarre moment in the backstage interview room when actor David Arquette popped up and asked if he was excited about the possibility of a black man being chosen as the next pope.

"It would be an exciting thing," he said. "I'm an adamant non-racist. I don't care whether the pope is black or white or whatever color. If we are non-racists then we have to stay non-racists all the way."

— Beth Harris — https://www.twitter.com/bethharrisap

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QUICKQUOTE: CHRISTOPH WALTZ

"Quentin writes poetry and I like poetry." — Supporting actor winner Christoph Waltz of "Django Unchained" about working with writer-director Quentin Tarantino.

— Beth Harris — https://www.twitter.com/bethharrisap

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MAYBE IT LOOKED EASY ...

Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were one big bundle of nerves before they took the stage for their opening song-and-dance numbers.